Jiffy cornbread dressing is one of my most sought after side dishes during the holiday season. It's made with tender cornbread that has been crumbled and combined with fresh veggies and other complimentary ingredients that fills your kitchen with the most incredible smell.
My family's jiffy cornbread dressing recipe is a MUST HAVE during the holiday season. It's just one of the recipes everyone talks about and has always been a crowd-pleaser. Even if dressing isn't your thing, you may have second thoughts after trying this savory dressing recipe.
This was inspired by my Garlic Butter Herb Roasted Turkey Recipe. My grandmother was from the south, and in her Southern kitchen, you couldn't have turkey without having homemade dressing from scratch.
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Ingredients
Let's get set to whip up a dressing that's going to impress your family and friends. The star of the show is the irresistible cornbread, but we can't forget about the onions, bell pepper, and diced celery.
What would this recipe be without the complementary flavors of kosher salt, poultry seasoning, garlic and onion powder, and black pepper? To keep this dressing moist, we are bringing on the chicken broth in full force.
How to Make Jiffy Cornbread Dressing
Whether you're making this as a Thanksgiving side dish or are simply craving something comforting, it's one of those nostalgic recipes that's reminiscent of the holidays. Here are step-by-step instructions for making this Southern cornbread recipe.
- Rinse chicken gizzards, add to a pot of seasoned water, and boil.
- When they're tender, remove them from the boiling water and dice them up when they're cool to the touch.
- Prepare jiffy cornbread according to the instructions on the package and bake in the oven.
- Prepare homemade cornbread and bake in the oven.
- Bake both batches at the same time.
- Meanwhile, rinse your veggies and dice them up.
- Crumble both batches of your cornbread in a large bowl or pot, add your stuffing mix and your diced gizzards.
- Add a little chicken broth and stir.
- Add your diced veggies the remaining ingredients.
- Slowly add in your remaining chicken broth and stir after adding each cup until all your ingredients are well combined.
- Spread your dressing into a casserole dish or baking dish.
- Then, place in the oven to bake.
- When done, remove your dressing from the oven and place on the countertop to rest.
Substitutions
Feel free to transform this jiffy cornbread recipe to your flavor preference or available ingredients without sacrificing taste.
- You can use white, yellow, or sweet onion.
- If you're looking to use up fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley or sage, chop them up finely and toss them into your dressing.
- If you don't have dijon mustard on hand, that's okay, regular mustard will work. Or, if you don't use mustard at all in your home. You can totally omit it.
- If you use stock instead of broth, that's totally fine too. Stock will add just as much flavor.
Storage
Place any leftover dressing in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze
Did you know that you can freeze leftover dressing? It's simple, all you need to do is place any leftover dressing in a freezer safe container with a tight fitting lid or a freezer safe ziploc bag.
If you use a ziploc bag, use a large spoon to scoop all of your dressing into the baggie, then lay the baggie on its side and press the bag down until the dressing is about 2 or 3 inches thick (see photo below). Push out any air and zip the baggie. Store in the freezer for up to 3 to 4 months.
When you freeze it this way, it will thaw out in less time.
To thaw, place in the fridge overnight or on the counter top if you will be making it soon after.
Reheat
To reheat, wrap your desired serving size in foil and place in a 375 degree preheated oven and heat until warm throughout.
Top Tips for Cornbread Dressing
- Be sure to add fresh onion, green onion, bell pepper either green, yellow or orange (or a combination), celery, kosher salt, along with your other complimentary seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, white pepper, and fresh or dried herbs (parsley, thyme, sage).
- To prevent your dressing from looking or tasting dry, be sure to add enough chicken broth or stock. I recommend adding a cup at a time and stirring well after each pour. Remember that your dressing should be really moist BUT should not be soupy.
- Taste test as you go and add more of your seasonings as you see fit. Your dressing should be flavorful and not bland. Poultry seasoning is a must-have for this recipe.
- Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven. If you notice that the top has browned nicely before removing it from the oven, place a sheet of foil over the top to prevent it from browning too much.
- After removing your dressing from the oven, allow it to rest and cool, so it can retain it's shape when cutting.
- When dicing, make sure your veggies are cut the same size and are not cut too big.
- Elevate your dressing even more by spooning graving over the top for the most incredible tasting holiday side dish.
How to Prepare Jiffy Cornbread Dressing in Advance
Jiffy cornbread dressing can definitely be made in advance. This way, you will have one less thing to prepare the day of. Here, are a couple of things you can do :
- Dice your veggies and chicken gizzard then store them in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid or ziploc bags, then store in the fridge.
- Bake your cornbread then wrap them in plastic wrap or place in a container with a tight fitting lid and store on your counter top.
- Rinse the top of your unopened cans of chicken broth and place them on the counter next to the can opener, so you do not have to worry about doing that.
- Then, assemble the day of.
- Or, you can simply prepare the entire dressing and place in the casserole or baking dish and wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and store in the fridge. This way, all you will need to do is remove it from the fridge, allow it to come to room temperature then bake in the oven the day of.
FAQ
You MUST use a generous amount of broth. When I say a generous amount, I mean it. The cornbread and stuffing mix absorbs the moisture which can cause your dressing to become look and taste dry. So, to fix that problem, slowly pour in a cup at a time and give your dressing a really good stir after each pour. Your dressing should look REALLY moist BUT NOT soupy. While stirring, you should here a "sloshing" sound.
You can use either broth or stock. It really doesn't matter. More importantly, use a generous amount to keep your dressing moist.
For the best tasting dressing, you need to use a generous amount of the following: white or yellow onions, green onions, bell pepper, celery, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper. You can also use dried herbs such as thyme and parsley. More importantly, test taste as you're making your dressing and add more seasoning if necessary. Do not skimp on the seasoning.
More Holiday Sides
Looking for other recipes like this? Try my:
- Thanksgiving Cajun Rice Dressing
- Baked Candied Yams
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Cinnamon-Walnut Streusel
- Tender Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey
- Green Beans with Smoked Turkey Necks
- Fresh Black Eyed Peas With Oxtails
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with jiffy cornbread dressing:
📖 Recipe
Holiday Jiffy Cornbread Dressing
Holiday Jiffy Cornbread DressingEquipment
- 1 casserole dish baking dish or roasting pan
- 1 Large bowl or large pot
- 1 large spoon for stirring all ingredient
- 1 can opener to open canned chicken broth
- 1 Pot for boiling chicken gizzards
- 1 Cutting board for dicing vegetables and gizzards
Ingredients
Homemade Cornbread
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup grapeseed oil (or avocado oil)
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Jiffy Cornbread (or follow instructions on package)
- 2 boxes jiffy cornbread
- 2 egg
- ⅔ cup milk
Gizzards
- 1-¼ lbs chicken gizzards (diced)
- 5+ cups water (for boiling RESERVE 3 cups)
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ TBSP garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
Other Ingredients
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4 stalks green onion (diced or ½ cup )
- 3 stalks celery (diced or 1 cup)
- 1 green bell pepper (diced or 1 cup)
- 1 orange bell pepper (diced or 1 cup)
- ½ cup onion
- 12 oz herb seasoned classic stuffing
- 3 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 1-½ tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt (Plus an additional 1 tsp)
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse chicken gizzard and place in a large pot of water. Season water with kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder. Boil gizzards until tender - 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the gizzards from the boiling water DO NOT DISCARD the water. When gizzards are cool to the touch - dice then up. Set aside.
Jiffy & Homemade Cornbread
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Get 2 mixing bowls. To one mixing bowl add the ingredients for the jiffy cornbread. Mix just until combined. Then, add to baking dish lined with parchment paper. To the other mixing bowl, combine the ingredients to make the homemade cornbread and mix just until combined. Then, add to baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Place both baking dishes into preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or butter knife into each. If the toothpick or butter knife comes out clean - the cornbread is done. After taking the cornbread out of the oven, place on a clean plate. Set aside
Dice Vegetables
- Dice green onion, bell pepper, celery, and onion. Set aside
Assemble
- In a large bowl or pot, crumble up the jiffy cornbread and the homemade cornbread, add in the gizzards, herb seasoned classic stuffing, and pour in 3 cups of the water from the pot of gizzards. (If it doesn't make 3 cups it's okay, substitute later with low sodium chicken broth).
- Add your poultry seasoning, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, an all the diced vegetables. Mix well until combined. Add in the remaining chicken broth a cup at a time while mixing all ingredients after each cup has been added. Then, add in dijon mustard and mix. Taste test to see if you need to add more seasoning.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray casserole dish with cooking oil then add dressing into dish. Bake in oven for approximately 1 hour. If the top of the dressing appears to brown too quickly before it's completely done, gently lay a sheet of foil paper over the top. Allow it to cool for 5 -10 minutes and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For the most accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information using the specific ingredients and brands you use.
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